Justin Maril Patrick ’05, Director, Rigel Capital
What made you decide to pursue a career in entrepreneurship/venture capital/startups after NYU Law?
I have worked in Southeast Asia since 2009, initially with a focus on corporate finance, infrastructure and energy. As the regional venture capital scene gradually grew, I had increasing requests from clients to assist with transactions involving early-stage and growth-stage transactions, as well as tech-focused M&A and financing transactions. Eventually, in 2022, a former client asked me to join them as a founding member of the team that became Rigel Capital. Rigel Capital is a strategic manager specializing in hyper-growth companies in Southeast Asia and South Asia.
How did NYU Law prepare you for this career?
NYU Law gave me the fundamentals for corporate practice, and the discipline and framework to approach new areas. In venture capital especially, market convention and technology trends can be very fast moving, so it’s critical that you keep learning as you go, to maintain an edge.
Why do you think lawyers find success in this career path?
Seed-stage funds usually offer limited roles for lawyers because the transaction structures are relatively simple and standardized. There isn’t much need for creative transaction structuring or complex deal documents. In contrast, Series A to growth-stage financing can be highly demanding and can require the acumen and attention to detail of a knowledgable corporate lawyer. It also helps to have at least some familiarity with the major areas of law that are most likely to affect start-ups—in particular, intellectual property. Compared to private equity transactions, venture deals tend to be relatively small, so it’s also necessary that you can work within a conservative budget.
What was the biggest challenge you faced as a lawyer in this career path?
All lawyers in any branch of corporate finance should pursue at least a basic grasp of accounting to be truly effective in an organization. There is usually a presumption that lawyers do not understand accounting and corporate finance. When I started practicing law years ago, I still had a lot to learn in these areas. Also, for American lawyers looking to work outside the United States, they should not underestimate the cultural differences that impact laws, legal practice, and business conventions. International transactions often require a delicate touch, and you can learn the hard way that techniques and practices that work on Wall Street don’t work elsewhere.
What is the most important thing students should do while they are still in law school to prepare themselves for a career in entrepreneurship, venture capital, or at a start-up?
For those interested in entrepreneurship or start-ups, knowing customer preferences and technological trends, and building a strong business network will be critical. Products and customers make or break a business, so please consider these to be the most important areas.
For those interested in venture capital, these areas are also important, but I would encourage everyone to learn as much as they can about finance and accounting along the way. There are also a lot of terms and conventions that are specific to venture capital deals. So pursue exposure to those early if you can.
What was the most important lesson you learned in your career thus far?
Relationships matter, and strong relationships take a long time to cultivate. While the old saying, “It’s not what you know but who you know,” is not 100 percent correct—especially in professional fields—high performers should appreciate that high-value relationships usually take longer to build than high-value expertise, and will be more beneficial in the long term.
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